Construction has topped out on Beekman, a 29-story residential building at 401 East 51st Street in the Turtle Bay section of Midtown East, Manhattan. Designed by Selldorf Architects and developed by CBSK Developers, the 358-foot-tall structure will yield 83 condominium units in studio- to three-bedroom layouts, two full-floor penthouses, and an exclusive three-story townhouse with it’s own private garage along East 51st Street, and 3,465 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. The property is alternately addressed as 930 First Avenue and located at the northeast corner of First Avenue and East 51st Street.
The entire reinforced concrete superstructure was built since our last update in July 2025, when excavation and piling work was still progressing below grade. The rooftop bulkhead is currently being constructed as crews steadily install the façade on the lower levels. The multistory podium is already enclosed in its distinctive set of 1,500 sculptural Italian-made terracotta paneling, and the third floor of the main tower is in the process of being clad in rust-hued paneling and floor-to-ceiling windows.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The following photos offer a closer look at the sculptural pattern of the podium façade, which creates an interesting play of light and shadow.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The below photos show the townhome at the southeast corner of the lot along East 51st Street. This abutting structure stands topped out at the same height as the podium rooftop and will feature a vertical stack of large bay windows.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
401 East 51st Street. Photo by Michael Young.
The below axonometric diagram shows the full structure from the same perspective as the rendering at the top of the article. The six-story podium will be topped with a wraparound terrace, and the adjoining townhome will feature a contrasting light-hued façade. Above, the main tower will feature a window grid arranged in two-story segments interrupted at its midpoint by a single-story fenestration. In the above rendering, this level is depicted as a series of loggia terraces with hanging vegetation. The roof appears to feature an additional terrace alongside the bulkhead.
Corcoran Sunshine is the exclusive marketing agent for the project. A select number of units have their own private spaces. Amenities at Beekman will include a porte-cochere and 24-hour attended lobby, a residents’ lounge with adjacent landscaped terrace, private dining room, a double-height fitness center, a private training studio, a library with private meeting rooms, a children’s playroom, a dog wash, and a landscaped roof deck with 360-degree views.
The nearest subway from the ground-up development is the 6 train at the 51st Street station along Lexington Avenue to the west.
401 East 51st Street’s anticipated completion date is slated for the fall of 2027.
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Possibly one of the ugliest looking buildings ever built in New York City.
While I appreciate any attempt to use masonry over glass, there is nothing good about this building. It looks like a hospital in Duluth.
Wow weathered steel and terracotta?? Amazing! How on earth did they convince a developer to use weathered steel how cool this is going to be a fantastic unique addition to the city
Absolutely awful. What was the developer thinking? A blight on the neighborhood.
I just… I just don’t know…
That’s a cool terra-cotta facade pattern on the bottom floors
Don’t understand the hate, pretty cool depth to it and a modern take on such a classic NYC material. Did people say this about the Flatiron Building and its terracotta too when it was going up? (Actually I think they did.) A location that could use a show-offy building, and should age well
Precisely. These sheep will hate anything, then in 20 years theyll tell their friends Ive always loved this building!
It’s not that bad, a risky choice with the colors though.
I like the terra cotta, a modern take on Doge’s Palace, using a facade as a textile pattern.
So, finally a building without a blue glass curtain wall, and still people hate it. You just can’t please this group. There’s a lot to love about this building.
Truly^ No pleasing these people. This is why architects and developers ignore public feedback.
I like the terracotta, I like the “weathered” steel panels. It is strange to have both red colors so close in hue. I’m hoping the too-bright steel will soften with time. It’s a unique design, and that in itself makes it better than most.
This development already looks dated.
Man… Selldorf buildings are so hit-or-miss for me. Sometimes I love the materials they use and the textures and surfaces they create… and sometimes you can tell the developer just value-engineered the crap out of what may have been a fairly nice original idea. This seems to be the latter. Oh well.
Weathered steel or corten can have problems early on. The large Annenberg Building in the Mt. Sinai complex had an exterior of this material. For years afterwards, the rusting steel badly stained the window glass, requiring frequent heavy cleanings. After a decade or more, the steel patina finally stabilized, and the staining ceased.